1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a sport fishing device. More particularly, it relates to an ice fishing assembly which is designed to retard the freezing of an ice fishing hole and be effective on a variety of different ice surfaces.
2. Background of the Invention
Ice fishing has long been practiced as a winter sport in which a generally cylindrical hole is bored within the surface of an ice covered lake or stream through which a fishing line can be dropped to the underlying water. A variety of fishing equipment have been developed over the years which include fishing poles, devices for supporting fishing poles and signaling devices for indicating when a fish has struck the submerged bait. One of the problems associated with ice fishing is the extremely cold weather conditions. Brisk winds which may blow over the surface of the lake or stream may cause an exposed ice fishing hole to freeze over before the fishing activity has been completed. In addition, due to the extreme cold, fisherman may not be able to personally attend a given hole for a prolonged period of time to avoid health threatening exposure.
In an attempt to overcome these problems, a variety of ice fishing hole covers or plugs have been developed to prevent or at least retard the freezing over of the fishing hole. In addition, the covers have been equipped with some type of a signaling device to indicate to a fisherman that a fish has struck the fishing line. U.S. Pat. No. 3,134,188 issued to Petersen discloses an insulated fishing pad. The pad includes a flexible insulating material which is completely covered by a waterproof plastic. Further, the pad is designed to include a hole centrally located within the pad for accommodating a tip-up gear and a radial slit that is spread to enable insertion of the tip-up gear. However, this patent requires the use of a flexible insulation material so that the tip-up gear can be mounted within the pad.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,226, issued to Todd, discloses an ice fishing accessory that includes a flag assembly secured to a cover for providing a visual indication to the user that a fish has struck the bait. This flag arrangement is included, however, on a cover which fits into an elongated plastic, tubular sleeve that is placed inside of the ice hole to prevent the ice hole from freezing over. Furthermore, this cover cannot accommodate a tip-up gear. The fishing line is merely provided with a loop that is hung on a notched lever arm of the flag.
A number of other devices have been developed which are more complicated than the devices set forth above. Such additional devices are illustrated in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,030,122; 4,747,226; 4,761,909. These devices generally involve bulky sheltering means or plugs which are inserted into the ice fishing hole. Such ice fishing assemblies are generally cumbersome and in some cases do not allow continued fishing of the ice hole while the cover is in place.
Therefore, a need still exists for an ice fishing assembly that is lightweight and includes an insulated base portion which can rest upon irregular, as well as, flat ice surfaces and can easily accommodate a fishing and signaling device. In addition, an ice fishing assembly which includes a means for securing the fishing and signaling device to an insulated base portion to reduce the likelihood of it separating from the base portion would also be highly desirable. The assembly should prevent the hole from freezing over when the device is or is not in use and should be capable of being used over a variety of ice hole sizes and with a variety of different, conventional tip-up gear.